Darina Allen: Food to fill the 'hungry gap' before summer

The Hungry Gap is the expression that is used to describe the six to eight weeks between the end of the winter produce and the beginning of the summer crops. 

Brussel sprouts, leeks, parsnips, Jerusalem artichokes are all coming to the end of their season, not that you’d know if all your shopping is done in your local supermarket which manages to source fruit and vegetables all year round from one corner of the world or another.

However years ago, these few weeks were very lean ones, hence the importance of a wonderful perennial kale called hungry gap, cottiers kale or cut and come. The latter was so called as the more you cut this tender green the more it grew. As it was propagated from slips, cottiers kale was passed from one cottage garden to another and it filled the ‘hungry gap’ before the summer greens and new potatoes were ready to eat.